Yume no Shokubutsu
by lalchan
Summary: Bruce Banner needs a place to calm down in the busy city of New York. Good thing there's a new tea shop near the Stark tower that's just opened.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yes, I'm starting another fic- actually I wrote this before I even came up with the NHE plot, but didn't like how it turned out. Right now I'm on vacation(Columbus Day!), and after rereading it during an eight hour long car ride, decided it may actually be worth posting(it seems time somewhat dilutes my highly self-critical nature, glad I didn't delete this). Warning: it is completed, but needs editing, and I really don't like the ending, so depending on reviews I may try to come up with another idea to continue it.

I imagine the outside of the tea house(gate and garden area only) to look like Yuuko's wish shop from xxxHolic. The actual building just looks like a small old fashioned asian building you see in Jidaigeki, with two primary rooms: the kitchen, and the seating area, with another room most people don't know about for Kurama.

Chapter One: First Meeting

'Yume no Shokubutsu,' the sign read in large but delicate green font. Underneath, in smaller script it said, 'An Asian Style Tea House.'

It looked to be built entirely of wood, which was amazing considering it was located smack dab in the middle of the 'Concrete Jungle' otherwise known as New York.

The front door was a rather delicate looking shoji, that Bruce was pretty sure had had to have been repaired after Loki's little invasion.

Overall, the place looked very peaceful, which was, in fact, why Bruce Banner, otherwise known as the Hulk, was here. Peaceful places were very _very_ good for Bruce's sanity- not to mention any nearby property and building owners.

And to say that Tony Stark's brand spanking new tower where Bruce had an office was peaceful, would be an immense lie.

So, it was 'Vacation Time' for the mad scientist.

Taking a deep, calming breath, the Doctor padded up to the door and slid it open gently.

"Irashaimasu!" Came a soft voice, that perfectly fit with the calm atmosphere of the room. Bruce could almost here a shamisen playing in the background.

"I'll be with you in a moment." Said the same voice, as Bruce examined the room.

It was all wood. The 'tables' (really just raised floor, with mats beside it for seats) were placed against the walls, each one separated by a shoji screen, with only one side open. Each table was was covered in a soft, almost mint green cloth, and in the middle of each table, in a small white porcelain vase, was a single red rose. There were shoji windows, with plants in little window boxes visible through the opened ones.

There was a couple at the table nearest the door, sipping on tea. They were taking turns eyeing each other subtly, and Bruce had to smile. But besides himself and the couple, there were no other customers.

_Perfect._ He thought, as the man who he presumed was the one that had called out earlier appeared.

He was Asian in all but coloring. Normally Bruce would have thought it a strange sight, but his bright red hair, gentle green eyes, and soft smile fit perfectly with the room accents of red and green. Sort of like a rose . . .

"Good Afternoon," The man said with a small yet polite bow. "I am Kurama. Where would you like to sit?"

"Uh, the back would be good." He pointed. It was farthest away from anyone entering, and near the back door that was off to the right, beside what he presumed was the kitchen. Good for staying out of trouble, as well as making a hasty getaway.

Kurama nodded serenely, and headed off to the table.

Bruce followed, and, after noticing that the couple at the front had left their shoes at the entrance to their 'booth,' slipped his own black dress shoes off and sat himself facing the door- old habits die hard.

Kurama smiled, apparently amused by his customer's paranoia.

"Here is your menu. I will be back in just a moment."

"Actually, I just want some tea, I just came here to calm down a bit. If you could recommend something, I'm not that picky."

Kurama thought for a moment, before tossing his hair behind his shoulder, and leaning forward to drop a small green plant into the vase along with the rose.

Bruce blinked. The guy was quick with his fingers, hwould have made a very good pickpocket.

"Why not something simple? Chamomile, perhaps?"

"Sure, that sounds good. What's the plant?" He said, curiously eyeing the tiny green leaves and delicate white flowers.

"Valerian. The oil is often used in perfumes, while an extract from the root can have a calming effect, similar to a sedative."

The red head grinned playfully. "If your feeling too stressed, feel free to chew on the root."

Bruce huffed a little. "Thanks, I'll remember that." He mumbled, making sure to sound sarcastic, even if it was a good back up plan- just in case.

Kurama disappeared off to the kitchen, only to return moments later with an old fashioned looking green tea pot, and a matching cup.

Kurama set the cup down, before gracefully pouring the steaming liquid into it, setting the pot down within easy reach, and bowing slightly. "Would you like honey, sugar, or anything else?"

"No, plain is fine."

"Very well, please call me if you need anything." And with that, the man disappeared off to the kitchen.

After waiting a few minutes, all the while patiently blowing on the surface of his drink, he took a small sip, and sighed.

All the busy thoughts of the day, the noisy traffic, Tony's monologuing, everything, seemed to fade away, leaving only the steam that was beginning to tickle his nose, and the scent of the little white flower Kurama had added to the vase expanded around him.

Suddenly, Bruce blinked. Was he being . . .

Drugged?

He frowned, and sniffed the tea in his hand. He couldn't smell smell anything besides chamomile, although that didn't mean much.

He stared at the kitchen.

As if sensing his customer's suspicion, Kurama appeared with an almost smirk on his face.

"Ah, what a paranoid man you are," he commented lightly. "Don't worry, I didn't drug you. As a host, that would have been incredibly rude of me. I just made the tea a bit stronger than normal. You seemed extremely stressed when you came in- now, now, don't give me that look. Just enjoy it while it lasts."

Bruce, deciding this was good advice, quickly finished his first cup, and started nursing his second, leaning his back on the wall, and having a small internal debate on wether or not the stalks of bamboo at the entrance to the kitchen were real or not.

After noticing the bit of genuine looking dirt hidden by a clay pot that the bamboo sat in, he decided on real.

The entire thing was extremely relaxing, and he probably would have stayed the rest of the day, if he hadn't gotten an urgent text from Tony about some sort of technological break through that he had to show off.

Kurama- who had apparently heard the "Hulk Smash" that came from his phone every time he got a text (courtesy of Tony Stark)- came out, and noticed that his guest was preparing to leave.

"How much do I owe you?" Bruce said, eyeing his only half finished tea pot forlornly.

"Well, since this is your first time, and you've been so rudely interrupted, I believe I will let you make your escape without the check."

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"You're not making me pay? Isn't that bad for business?"

Kurama smile mischievously, and held up two fingers.

"There are conditions of course. One, you must promise to come back some other time, and two," he reached down and plucked the valerian out of the vase, "You take this with you."

Bruce looked down at the plant, thought a moment, and then accepted it.

"I guess I can agree to those terms."

Kurama smiled.

"Until we meet again."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Well, thanks for the reviews and such. Since it's already written, and I'm still on vacation, I thought, 'what the heck, I might as well post the next chapter.' So here it is. Enjoy!

Chapter Two: An Annoying Disturbance

Bruce ended up visiting the little tea house more often than he originally intended. It opened at six in the morning, and it was around a thirty minute walk, so Bruce would leave at five thirty. He didn't have problem with waking up early like most people did- he had been on the run for a long time, and when you're on the run (especially in third world countries), you don't get the luxury of sleeping in till noon like _some _people(namely Tony).

He would usually arrive a little early, and he ended up sitting on a little bench he had spotted from the entrance. There was a _garden_ out there. The shop was surrounded by a wooden gate, and the entrance had grass beside the walkway, and a little tree off to the left, so he shouldn't have been so surprised. Still, it was strange seeing so much green in New York anywhere outside Central Park.

The first time he had found the garden, he had been so preoccupied with examining it, that he didn't notice the quiet sliding sound or the soft footsteps in grass.

"Good Morning."

Bruce had jumped, then turned and smiled sheepishly at Kurama.

"You have a lovely garden." He'd managed to say.

Kurama had nodded politely. "It's a hobby of mine. It's where I got the name of this place."

"Oh?"

"Yume no Shokubutsu: yume means dream, 'no' makes it an adjective, and shokubutsu means plant."

"So. . . 'Dreamy Plant'?"

The man had smiled and nodded again. "Yes. Now why don't you come in, it's a bit chilly out here."

After that, it became a habit. He would go to the back, look around, and when the shop opened, Kurama would come and get him, sometimes pointing out a plant or two on their way in.

This particular morning, however, Bruce was a little late(he had lost track of time the night before, and then accidentally slept in), and the lights were already on. He glanced over in the direction of the garden, sighed a little, then headed inside. There was the familiar "Irashaimasu," that always came when someone entered, and he headed to the back booth where he always sat. He noticed that his tea was already out, and the vase, as always, held its rose, as well as the little white flowers that had always accompanied it ever since his first time here. It was nice, to have a place that you frequented. It had been a missed luxury ever since he had started traveling.

He sat facing away from the door, deciding that today would be a good day to be oblivious to the outside world, and took a sip of the tea. It had an unfamiliar taste, and he looked down at it curiously.

Noticing a small slip of paper beside the tea pot, he picked it up and examined it. In neat small print, it said: "Passionflower tea, I hope you like it."

Bruce smiled and took another sip.

"Irashaimasu," came Kurama's voice again, but Bruce didn't bother looking up. He frowned as the sound of impatient footsteps drew closer.

_There's plenty of room in the front, go sit over there!_

But his silent pleading went unheeded.

"So, _this_ is where you've been sneaking off to." Bruce's head shot up, the cup of tea in his hands quivered slightly, but thankfully did not spill.

"Tony?!"

Tony Stark grinned and took the seat opposite him.

"Pretty nice place, a little too quaint for my tastes, but . ." he shrugged.

"What are you doing here? And take off your shoes!"

"Jarvis told me you've been sneaking off at ungodly hours of the morning-"

"Five thirty is not that early."

"And I was curious. And what do my shoes have to do with it?"

"It's polite. Your supposed to take them off." Bruce looked pointedly at his own shoes, which were sitting neatly at the entrance to the booth.

"Fine, whatever," He said, kicking his shoes off and dropping them none too neatly on the floor.

Just then, Kurama came out, holding a menu. If the red head was surprised, he didn't show it, heading over to the only occupied table in the place.

Tony raised his eyebrows as Kurama approached.

"Oh, so _that's_ why you've been coming here. Well, I must say I approve."

Bruce's face fell into his hands.

_It's too early for this. Oh please just go away._

When Kurama got to their table, he handed Tony a menu.

"Why, thank you, Miss-?" Tony began, with all the charm he kept reserved for any members the female population.

"Actually," Kurama began, raising an eyebrow dubiously, "It would be 'Mister,' but please, just call me Kurama." Tony blinked, then turned his gaze to Bruce.

"Why, Bruce, I didn't know you felt that way. Well, he's certainly pretty enough. Don't worry, I won't tell the Captain. He would probably-"

"_Tony_" Bruce growled, feeling his face heat up. It was getting very hard to stay calm.

"Please, sir, if you would order." Bruce glanced up Kurama. He seemed a little annoyed, but not overly so.

_It probably happens a lot, and his clothes and hair don't help._ He thought, noticing the white undershirt and pants that were covered by a green dress-like thing embroidered with roses and held in place with a red sash.

"Uh, yeah, I think I'll have coffee."

Kurama frowned. "Sir, this is a tea house, I'm afraid we don't normally serve coffee."

"What? This is America! Everyone serves coffee."

"Well . . I might have one or two coffee beans in the back . . ."

"One or two-?!" But Kurama had already disappeared into the kitchen.

"How is he going to make coffee with only two coffee beans?"

Bruce shrugged.

"Beats me." he said, turning back to his tea and trying to pretend that Tony wasn't there. Maybe if the coffee tasted really bad, Tony wouldn't come back.

One could only hope.

It took Kurama a bit longer to reenter than normal, but he did come out, a steaming tea pot in one hand and a small tray with a plate and a cup on it.

He set the tray down- Bruce taking note of the two neat pastries sitting on the plate- then poured a cup of steamy black liquid.

"Well that was quick. Looks pretty strong considering you only had two coffee beans a minute ago."

"Would you like anything with it?"

"Nah, I drink my coffee black."

"Very well, enjoy-" But he was cut off by a half cough half splutter emanating from Tony, who had just taken his first sip.

"Is there something the matter?"

"This! This is- how the- this is the best coffee I have ever had in my life! 'Only two coffee beans?!' How in the-"

"Well, if there's nothing the matter, please enjoy you beverages."

And he was gone.

There was a pause, then, "He was lying."

"What?"

"Lying. He was. About the coffee. There is _no_ way he just happened to have this in the back."

"Is it really that good?"

"Mhm," he murmured through a sip. "Here, try it."

Bruce eyed the cup.

"Uh, no thanks, I'm more of a tea person."

"Oh, come on, tea is boring! Tea is for British people! Coffee is exciting."

"Exactly. I don't _need _any excitement. Besides, you already drank out of that cup."

"Hah! You're the Hulk, a couple germs won't kill you. 'Puny germ! Hulk smash!' Is what you _should _say."

"Believe it or not, I can get sick," he muttered, taking the proffered cup.

"Wow, this really is good," he managed, after taking a tentative sip.

"See, told ya."

"Mmhmm."

"I'll have to come by here more often."

"What?!"

And so, a new tradition began, against Bruce's wishes. Tony was against waking up so early, but he wanted to go with Bruce, so he gritted his teeth, claiming that the coffee was worth it.

It wasn't all that bad, he decided later. Tony could be pretty obnoxious, but he was also fun to be around- at least, he was when not making jokes at your own expense- and having company, even if not as relaxing, was sort of nice.

It was on one of these outings with Tony that something odd happened.

They were sitting at their booth as usual, sipping and snacking, when a bright young woman with- blue hair?-dressed in jeans and a light pink long sleeved shirt slid open the door.

She smiled at them, as Kurama stepped out of the kitchen.

"Botan. What a pleasure."

She grinned

"Good to see you too Kurama."

"Are you just here to visit, or . . "

The woman deemed Botan sighed dramatically, "Oh, I wish. Everyone misses you terribly, even Hiei, although he's pretending not to, but I'm afraid I have a favor to ask you for Koenma."

Kurama nodded. "I expected as much." They both paused, then eyed the two customers in the back who were innocently sipping at their drinks, and pretending not to hear them.

"Why don't you come join me in the kitchen. I'm in the middle of making melonpan."

She clapped excitedly. "Oh goody, could I-"

"No you may not help. You are a dreadful baker."

Botan pouted. "Oh alright."

After they had left, Tony 'hmmed' curiously.

"Wonder what that was about."

"None of our business."

Tony frowned at him. "_Everything_ is my business."

"No, you just think it is."

"You're starting to sound like Pepper."

"Only because she's the only one who can keep you in line."

Tony snorted, but opted to take another sip of his beverage instead of responding.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: In this chapter, Thor is off doing godly, thunder related things, and . . . I think he's the only one missing- besides Colton. Who is Not Dead, somewhere(trying to find time to watch AoS online, since I have no cable, but have so far failed) Also, we finally get some much needed Kurama POV! Yay! Show me you love me by reviewing!

Chapter Three: A Thief and A Hunt

The next day the shop was closed.

"Has he ever not been open before?" Tony asked, eyeing the 'Sorry We're Closed' sign suspiciously.

"No, I've been coming every day for almost three weeks, and he's never been closed."

"Hmm, well, I could-"

"No"

"What, I didn't-"

"We are not stalking him."

"I wasn't, I was just going to get Jarvis to do a little digging."

"Same thing. He's probably doing that favor for that 'Koenma' person ."

"Hmm, well-"

But before Tony could come up with another plan of action, their phones interrupted. Simultaneously.

"Well that can't be good." Tony muttered as they both pulled out their cells. "'Waiting for you at the tower. -Fury,' what about yours?"

"Same."

"Ugh. Why do they need us?" Tony griped as the two left the tea shop at a steady pace.

"Because you have a shiny red and gold suit, and I can turn into a 'giant green rage monster' as you like to put it."

"Doctor, I do believe I'm a bad influence on you. You weren't half as sarcastic now as when I met you."

"Well, after being stuck in third world countries, running from the authorities for years, I kind of lost my sense of humor."

"Well, nice to know I've helped restore you to your former glory."

Bruce snorted.

"I don't think I was quite this sarcastic before I met you."

They arrived back at the tower to meet the sight of Pepper lugging around way to many papers.

"They're waiting for you Tony." She called as they headed toward the elevator.

"Why did you let them in? They're probably into my emergency alcohol supply!"

"It's six thirty in the morning Tony, nobody drinks at six in the morning."

"It's five o'clock somewhere."

"Tony, that's not funny anymore."

The elevator doors closed.

'They' were indeed waiting- not just Nick Fury either. There was also Agent Romanov, Agent Barton, Agent Hill, and the Captain.

"Ah, old Saint Nick, throwing a party without me I see."

"Stark. Banner. Where were you?" Fury barked out, completely ignoring Tony's attempts at humor.

"Oh, just out for a spot oh' tea my good fellow." He answered with a grin.

"Sir, now that everyone is here, could you tell us what you've called us all for?" Steve interrupted, obviously trying to keep Tony's witty remarks to a minimum.

"Right." There was a pause. "Last night, someone broke into SHEILD headquarters."

Bruce gaped, Tony looked amused, the Captain looked surprised, and the Agents looked stoic.

"Again?" Tony said "You know, after last time, you'd think you would have gotten better security systems."

Nick Fury grimaced.

"We did. Which is why we called _you all_ together to catch him. He's _very_ skilled; we didn't find out until about an hour ago."

Tony whistled.

"So, what did he take?" Bruce finally asked. His curiosity overpowering his usual habit of keeping quiet when in large groups.

"Well . ." There was another pause, in which Fury gave them an almost _sheepish_ look. Needless to say, the expression did not fit well on his face.

"We're not entirely sure."

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"You don't even know what he stole? What, lost you're inventory list?"

Agent Hill stepped forward. Apparently she had been waiting for this moment to speak.

"We do know what object was stolen, we're just not sure what it is or what it does."

She held out a small metal object in he palm and thumbed a button. An image appeared of a long thin green . . . thing, with a bulbous object of the same color attached to the end.

"It's hollow, and has multiple holes, so we at first thought it was an instrument of some kind, but-"

"Hold up, you are sending the _Avengers_ after some guy who stole a misshapen whistle?!"

"Stark. We found this in the possession of a very dangerous man. We believe he was using it to somehow control others into submission. Several men were killed in stopping him and retrieving this object. Do us all a favor and take this seriously for once."

That quieted the group, allowing Agent Hill to continue.

"The only thing that we were able to find out about this object while it was in our possession, was that it had a peculiar energy signature. After it was first stolen, there was some other energy blocking it, but we managed to pick it up after it stopped moving."

"It was stolen by this man." She pressed the button again, and another image appeared. It was of a tall man, dressed in all black, with a sort of cape over his shoulders. He had long silver hair and was wearing a sort of bandana over the top of his head.

"How'd you get a picture if you didn't know about it till this morning?"

"Shift change is at five. He had knocked out every single person at the facility, but some of the security cameras were still operating."

There were several surprised intakes of breath.

"Wow." Was all Tony managed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kurama sighed as he began pulling off his black disguise. Really, it was rather annoying having to wear all this in his Yoko form. He would have preferred to change before he delivered the makai flute to Koenma, but he had felt it wise to get rid of the instrument as soon as possible. SHIELD was notorious for catching on quickly, and he was sure they were feeling motivated to catch him as soon as they found the mess their base was in come day.

He ran fingers through thick silver hair, careful to avoid seeds, and let his body shift back to his currently more comfortable form and sighed in relief. He was getting better at holding his Yoko form, but it still took a lot of energy to maintain. He glanced at a clock on the wall in his room and sighed. Nine in the morning already. Delivering the flute and meeting with Koenma had taken much longer than it should have- although no longer than expected. Paper work was a given, and while Yuusuke could get out of it since it was not a good idea to sit him down alone in an office with pen and paper and expect to get legitimate answers, Kurama was actually trusted in that area. Unfortunately.

He glanced at the folded back shoji screen near the wall, and the portal it was supposed to conceal. He unfolded it, so it was once more concealing all, and then unrolled his futon.

The portal was why he was here. Generally portals only opened when someone actually pulled one open, but this one was stuck- it wouldn't close. Apparently after all the destruction of New York with aliens and Avengers clashing, the extensive damage had made the space here weaker, and torn open the portal. After about twenty people accidentally walked through- and almost as many complaints from the Makai border patrol- Koenma had decided to put a man on the job.

So of course, Kurama got pulled into the job. Koenma had promised it wouldn't be long- after a few months the area should naturally strengthen and then the portal would close back by itself. And here he was, guarding the portal. Running a tea shop had been his own idea. It wasn't that difficult, since he could grow the leaves for teas on demand, and he needed some sort of income while he was living here.

Kurama lay on the futon, and was about to close his eyes to get some sleep after his very busy night, when he felt four strong auras approaching.

He sighed. It seemed he wouldn't be able to get any sleep after all.

A/N: Remember the Makai Flute that was used in the saint beasts arc? Well, somehow SHIELD got their grubby little hands on it. Yeah, not good. Warning, I didn't really edit this- I'm no longer on vacation, so it was either edit, or do my homework. Hope you enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: the fourth, final, and my least favorite chapter. Reviews are and always will be appreciated, loved, and cuddled, so thank you.

Chapter Four:

The Avengers were on the trail of the thief.

Bruce and Tony had figured out how to track the odd energy signature the . . . thing, emitted, and now they were following it. By car.

It seemed odd to Bruce, having all those agents, plus Tony in his armor, plus . . . well, him, altogether in one car, but according to the readings the object hadn't been taken far away, so there was no point in going by helicopter, or helicarrier, or whatever other crazy science fiction like devices SHIELD currently had in their possession.

It was currently the most awkward car ride he had ever taken part in, and he honestly couldn't wait for it to be over.

It didn't help that he was the one driving.

Apparently Tony couldn't drive while suited up, and they needed someone who could follow the readings on the sensor they had jury rigged to the car. Thus leaving him as the only other option.

He was currently tuning out an argument between Tony and Captain America- something about how flying would have let them avoid traffic- and only barely managing to pay attention to the roads enough to avoid getting totaled by an angry New Yorker. He could practically feel his stress levels rising by the minute.

He gave a happy sigh as the device made a beeping sound- meaning that they were within a thousand feet of the object. Now if he could only find a parking space . . .

He managed to get into a parallel parking area, and after he got out of the car, he stuck some coins in the meter, and turned to the rest of the team.

Tony was just pointing.

Bruce blinked, and turned to see what was so . .

No way.

There was just no way-

But it couldn't be a coincidence.

The favor, was it-

He gritted his teeth.

There, not two blocks away, was the tea shop.

He pulled out the sensor from the car as quickly as possible, and pointed in that direction.

Of course.

He sighed.

"It's that way." He muttered, and began walking.

The others followed, apparently picking up on his mood. They said nothing.

When they reached the wooden gate, the machine gave a final beep, and the screen blacked out.

"The trail ends here." Bruce said.

He squared his shoulders and walked over to the sliding door- it would be best if he was the one who knocked- but before he had even raised his hand, a tired looking Kurama in sleeping robe opened the door.

"Ah, Bruce, good to see you." His eyes traveled over the rest of group, and he gave a small smile. "It doesn't look like you're here for tea though."

"Yeah," he glanced over at them, then back to Kurama. It seemed that they were content to let him do the talking for now. "We're looking for a stolen object. We tracked its energy signature, and it ends here."

Kurama raised an eyebrow curiously. "Really? How odd. What item was stolen?"

"That's classified." Natasha stepped forward. "And just so you know, you are currently our only suspect."

"Of course. I suppose you'll want to search the building?" Kurama stepped out of the door way, and held out an arm, as if welcoming them inside.

Natasha brushed past him with an air of authority, which was when Bruce noticed that Agent Barton was gone.

Probably covering them from some high up building nearby. Bow and Arrow wasn't really a close combat weapon.

Tony walked by, and Kurama quirked his eyebrow. "Mr Stark. You look a bit overdressed. Can I get you anything to drink?"

The Iron Man face plate folded in on itself, and Tony grinned. "The regular."

"And you Bruce?"

Bruce's eyes flickered between Tony and Kurama, unsure of what to say. He knew he really shouldn't drink something from a possible suspect, but he felt like if he didn't do something to calm his nerves soon, the building he was currently in would quickly become a pile of toothpicks.

"Anything is fine."

Kurama nodded, and disappeared, as the rest of the team entered the humble tea shop.

"Can't you just turn that thing on, and find it that way?" The Captain asked, looking pointedly at the sensor Bruce was holding.

"It shorted out when we got close. Either because it ran out of power, or because the energy hit such a high level that it couldn't take it."

Tony frowned. "That's not right. It should've had enough power to last at least a few more hours, and we designed it so it could take the same amount of energy that the object we're tracking has."

Bruce shrugged. "But we don't know what the device does. Maybe when it's being used, it exerts more energy, or it was equipped to something more powerful." He glanced at Tony. "Maybe we could modify it or something?"

Tony rubbed his chin, then winced, apparently he had forgotten his fingers were covered in hard metal. "That could work, let's see . . ."

The pair walked over to a booth, and Bruce sat, while Tony paused, then after a few moments thought, removed his armor with a command, and sat as well.

They fiddled with it for a few minutes, until Kurama brought out their drinks.

Natasha gave them a hearty glare, before turning to search the kitchen. The captain, who had been trying to find anywhere that could hide a large whistle shaped object, glanced at them, then gave Kurama a scrutinizing look.

Kurama turned and smiled. "Would you like a cup of coffee as well?" He held up an extra cup filled with steaming black liquid.

"Uh, no thank you."

"Oh don't worry, I haven't added anything lethal to it." And before Steve could protest, the cup was in his hands, and Kurama was back in the kitchen. Steve eyed Bruce and Tony, who were both already drinking their beverages, then sniffed the coffee.

It smelled normal enough, so he took a sip.

His eyes widened comically, and he glanced down at the coffee. It was really good. He looked at Bruce and Tony again, who were still sitting comfortably at the low table, although now they were back to fiddling, and decided it would be best if he just kept looking around.

He wandered into the kitchen, to find Kurama scooping a serving of rice into a bowl.

"How is the coffee?" He asked without looking up.

"It's great." There was a pause, and he coughed. "So, where did Agent Romanov go?"

"To search my room. It's right through that door if you want to join her."

"Thanks." Steve said, not really sure how to respond. He walked over to the door and watched Natasha search for a moment, before he glanced at something on the wall. He frowned. There were several small rectangular papers pasted on it, with some asian characters on it.

"What's that?" He asked.

Natasha glanced up at him, then followed his gaze. "Japanese ofuda. They're used to seal spiritual objects and creatures." She frowned. "They're written in the name of Inara, which is odd- she's usually for crop fertility."

"Okay . . ."

He watched her a moment more, but there really wasn't anywhere to hide anything in this building. Everything was pretty simple, almost to the point of being bare, but not quite.

He walked forward and looked at the 'ofuda' more closely. Steve reached his hand out curiously-

"Please don't touch that."

He jumped and turned. Kurama had somehow managed to sneak up on him- which was no small feat.

"It's very fragile. I had to seal it quickly, and the ofuda won't last very long. Physical contact will make it even weaker."

"Right." Steve paused, then asked, "What exactly is it supposed to be sealing?

Kurama smirked. "I doubt you'd believe me."

Natasha walked over. "Tell us anyway."

"Well, if you insist." He gave a small, rather amused sounding sigh. "It holds a portal to another world."

Steve blinked. A portal to . . . well, there had been that portal with the aliens, but this was most definitely not anything like that.

Natasha gave him a look, then tilted her head slightly toward the door. He nodded. They needed to go check on Tony and Bruce. The two left the room, and arrived back at the table, where the two scientists were glaring at the sensor.

"What's going on, have you got it working yet?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes, we have-"

"But nothings showing up-"

"The trail is, it's just not here."

"So, someone moved it?"

Steve glanced at Natasha. "See if Barton saw anyone leaving or entering the building."

She nodded, and spoke quietly into her discreet headset, then turned back to him. "Only us."

"So, your sensor fritzed out because it was nearby, and now it's gone, but it couldn't have been here."

He was pretty sure he saw Bruce sigh in relief. "Alright people, this is a dead end, let's head back to base."

They began to walk out, and Kurama appeared at the kitchen door. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No, thanks for the tea though." Bruce said as he began to reach into his pocket.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be expecting you tomorrow."

Bruce smiled. "I'll be here. Thanks."

As they all got back in the car, Steve frowned. "There's something weird about him."

Tony shrugged. "Who cares. He makes great coffee."

The End~

A/N: Lamest ending line ever, I know, but I'm bad at ending things. My conclusions always suck. Anyway, While I was writing this I had a sudden urge to make Steve somehow break the seals, open the portal, then get trapped in Makai and or Reikai. It would have been awesome, but I'm lazy, and the end was in sight, so I cut off that imaginative little tangent and cauterized the wound. If anyone wants to write an alternate ending to this or something though, this crossover category could use some more stories. X 3


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